Social Skills
by Anime Forever999
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha is a lone wolf, he doesn't need, want or have friends. But when his perfect grades are threatened by a group project, he has two weeks to create a list, a 'how to be social' list in hopes that he makes friends and meets the requirements to form a group. With the help of a certain blond that is. AU NaruSasu
1. The List

**AN: Hey guys! I hope you like this, it's my new story. I'm not very sure of this one so please tell me what you think! :D**

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><p><strong>The List<strong>

**S**

It was a cold day. I could tell as I sat on a bench alone in the playground wearing the flimsy school PE kit that consisted of an ugly pair of green shorts and a thin white polo. People surrounded me but didn't talk to me, they stayed in their groups, ignoring my presence completely as they gossiped or laughed or played with each other.

It didn't bother me in the least that I was being left out; the solitude of life comforted me, no annoying people or things to worry about; however, not everybody thought the same.

It started with my brother, Itachi, claiming that he was worried for me, 'it's not healthy Sasuke, you need friends Sasuke, talking to yourself is the first sign of madness Sasuke etc'. His holier-than-thou attitude always pissed me off royally but this seemed to take the biscuit; my sadistic, rude, slave driver of a brother was lecturing _me _about _my _social life when he couldn't get most people to come within a 5 meter radius of him.

But that wasn't the end, my brother nagged me for ages on end and eventually my parents got involved, some may think that was normal, your parents should be concerned about your life enough for them to want you to have friends but it was different for me, my parents were very different.

Parents have a phase right after marriage, normally known as the honeymoon phase where they cannot see anyone other than themselves; for my parents that phase has never ended. For as long as I can remember it has, sadly, only been me and Itachi to fend for ourselves while we grew up so when my parents get involved it means it's serious enough to bring them out of their bubble of love.

So after my parents and Itachi were on my back, in came my History teacher, Iruka. He was a nice teacher, everyone knew that and since we had to do quite a lot of project and group work in History, he was understanding enough to let me work alone but that obviously couldn't last forever. Yesterday he called me out and told me that for our latest project in class, we had to be in a group; it was a very important part of our exams and if we weren't in a group of at least four people, we wouldn't be graded properly.

It was degrading how I had to rely on other people for a good grade, I couldn't trust other people, they would bring me down and most definitely annoy me to no end.

I scowled in disgust as a group of girls giggled uncomfortable close to me and shuffled away slightly while shivering in the cold, "hello, youthful students!" I looked up from my almost purple, shivering hands at my 15 minute late to class teacher Gai and glared menacingly. He didn't seem to notice and laughed as everyone began to stand up, "I was caught up in a battle against my longstanding rival Kakashi! I brought my score up to 325 to match his!"

The class, except me of course, clapped happily for him, it was no secret he had an ever going competition with our Art teacher Kakashi. "I'm all pumped up for our lesson now so for warm up lets have 50 youthful laps around the playground!"

Everyone groaned, excluding me, and reluctantly stood up. I waited for everyone to pass by before I started the long trek as well while thinking up a way to increase my numbers by three.

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><p><strong>S<strong>

"Hey Sasuke!" As I walked away from the changing rooms I heard my name being called by a familiar voice, "Iruka-sensei." I greeted as I turned to see him.

He smiled and jogged slightly to catch up with me, "have you thought of a way to make friends?" he asked in a nervous tone, "I told you about the project two weeks in advance so you'd have time to think about who'll join your group, I know you're an extremely picky person."

I sighed, Iruka was a nice guy but he didn't need to dote on me so much, "firstly, I don't need friends, just acquaintances, secondly, thank you for taking me into consideration and thirdly, I've already got something in mind, you don't have to worry so much about me."

He sighed and ruffled his hair slightly, "I know, but you're just one of those people who I can't help but worry about, just promise you'll tell me if you're feeling troubled or things aren't working out for you."

Iruka was one of the very few people who were special to me, I wouldn't worry him with my problems, "I promise." But I'd lie if it put his mind at ease.

Grinning slightly, he patted my shoulder softly before turning to walk away, "oh and Iruka?" He turned inquiringly to face me; I gave a small smile, "thanks."

I didn't have to turn to know that Iruka was a red fumbling mess at the sight of one of my rare smiles.

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><p><strong>S<strong>

Laid in-front of me innocently on the floor was a piece of paper. I store at it intensely as it rested empty apart from the few words scribbled at the top to be the title, 'how to be social'.

It was a list, well it was going to be a list once I thought of things to put on it but it was quite hard for a guy who had never interacted with people other than his family and teachers to know what to put down.

I sighed as I ran a sweaty hand through my hair; they had been clenching and unclenching as I thought, "OK, let's start with the simple things." I chided to myself as I picked up my pen and wrote the first component onto the paper.

'_1. Smile'_

I had learnt throughout my years of existence that smiling was the best way to make friends. It was odd how a smile could put some people at ease and could easily create friendship. My head tilted slightly as I thought about it, I would have to incorporate smiling regularly into my life, then as I talked to more people I could add more things to the list and I could slowly get more friends and eventually have enough for the project.

"Then after I can be alone again." I assured myself, theses people would only be temporary, all I needed was myself.

I put my pen down before folding up the paper and slipping it between my books in my bag. It was only 9 o'clock but I wanted an early start tomorrow, it was going to be tiring since my mouth would most definitely move more than it normally did.

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><p><strong>S<strong>

The first reactions to my constant smiles were unexpected. I came down for breakfast as usual, my family said their 'good mornings' as usual but instead of my unhappy grunt, a smile bloomed on my face, "good morning family, what a wonderful day it is, do you not agree?"

I had learnt this morning when I watched TV as I got ready, that smiling continuously meant that you were happy and because you were happy you normally said nice things so right underneath my number one I scribbled in

'_2. Be optimistic'_

Before slipping it back into my bag.

The whole room froze; my parents were actually able to peel their lips away from each other's long enough for their jaws to fall to the ground. Itachi, who had just finished making his usual morning coffee, dropped his mug on the floor, the sound seemed to snap everyone out of their stupor as my parents jumped out of their seats and rushed over to me but didn't dare touch me.

"S-Sasuke, are you OK? Are you feeling alright?" Itachi spoke first as he reached out to touch my forehead, I slapped his hand away before smiling again, "of course I'm OK dear brother of mine, how can I not be after seeing my wonderful family on this fine morning."

It was hard for me to be happy all of the time so I barely squeezed that out through my gritted teeth, I grabbed a slice of toast of my Father's plate and made my way towards the door before any of the could stop me.

I flashed them a smile over my shoulder, "I'll be seeing you!" I called out before I left causing both of my parents to faint.

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><p><strong>S<strong>

On the bus to school, I had smiled at everyone who had caught my eye, whether they went to my school or not and by the time I had made it to my locker my cheeks were starting to hurt.

I opened my locker and sighed into it, why was life so hard? All I wanted was to pass the group project but was all of this hassle really worth it?

I took out the books in my bag and replaced them with some of the books in my locker before shutting it and turning to walk away, "hey, Uchiha, wait, you dropped something!" I had taken two steps before someone called out to me.

Sighing, I plastered a smiled onto my face, turned back around and stuck my hand out, "than-"

Before I could finish what I was saying I noticed a blond boy who I had never talked to before reading a paper that seemed oddly familiar. My eyes widened and my smile fell as he looked up at me questioningly, "is this a 'how to be social' list?"

It seemed like today was about to take a turn for the worst.

"Yes." I replied with a scowl, "yes it is."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked it, please follow, favourite andor review if you did and please go check out my other stories!**


	2. The Blackmail?

**AN: Hey! Thank you to all the guys that read and supported my last chapter, i'm feeling really hyped and in the writing mood so even though it's only been a few days here's the next chapter for you!**

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><p><strong>The Blackmail...?<strong>

**S**

His eyebrows rose as I assured my claim of the innocent sheet of paper, "you're not going to deny it?" Firstly, who was this dude?

My arms crossed and my scowl deepened, "no, no I'm not." Secondly, why did he still have my paper?

"Isn't it embarrassing to admit that you've made a 'how to be social' list?" he asked as he shook the list in question slightly, "no, no it's not." Thirdly, why was I replying to him?

The blond boy sighed before scanning the area, there was nobody around, well nobody I cared about at least. He turned slightly and gestured for me to follow him, "come with me for a second." He commanded as he walked away.

My eyebrow rose from where it was but I didn't move an inch, when he noticed I hadn't moved he turned around and waved my list again, "if you don't come you'll never get your paper back."

I shrugged, "it literally has two things on it, I can easily make a new one." Turning to walk away, I was stopped when he grabbed my wrist and began to pull me towards where he was going.

His grip wasn't forceful and his pull wasn't hasty, I was extremely annoyed that he had dared to manhandle me but I didn't bother shaking off his touch; it was surprisingly warm.

Wait, who was this guy again?

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><p><strong>N<strong>

I pulled the well known loner of the school Sasuke Uchiha into one of the empty classrooms before turning to him and holding up the sheet of paper that had slipped from his bag moments before.

"You do know what I can do with this don't you?" I asked with the most malicious grin I could pull, I didn't honestly want to blackmail him but I was curious and curious people did what curious people had to do.

He shrugged in an unbothered manner, "don't know and don't care."

"I can make copies of this and spread your embarrassing secret around the school; you wouldn't like that would you?"

He looked at me as if I was stupid, and honestly, considering how I was acting, I felt pretty stupid, "it wouldn't affect me, I have no friends, why do you think I made the stupid list in the first place?"

I crossed my arms and considered this for a second, "you want friends?" For a brief second I thought I saw a small tint of red cover his cheeks but by the time I blinked it was gone, "no." He denied as he focused on flattening his fringe rather than looking directly at me.

Sasuke Uchiha was a pretty confusing guy, I had never talked to him before so I never knew what he was like, in fact, nobody in our whole school other than the teachers have ever gotten him to talk or change his facial expression, it was a huge scare when I went to hand his paper back and I saw a slight flicker of a smile on his face, no matter how fake it looked.

"Then why did yo-"

"Look, whatever your name is." He cut in.

"Naruto."

"I don't care." He replied with a hefty sigh, I held back a chuckle at the pissed off expression his face showed, "neither do I care about you or your stupid blackmail so I'd appreciate it if you handed me back my list and we both went on with our lives without having to remember this painful experience again, OK?"

I considered it, I could hand back the paper, go back to my friends, pretend I never got to hear Sasuke Uchiha's alluring voice speak to me directly and ignore whatever scheme he had going on in that pretty little head of his or I could keep the list, offer to help with whatever the plan was, become friends with him and possibly have the time of my life.

Grinning one of my trademark mischievous grins, I replied, "No."

In a second Sasuke was on me trying to grab the paper out of my grasp but I lifted it higher and higher until he had to jump to touch it and to prevent that from happening, I wrapped my arm around his waist and held him flush against my chest. He paused for a moment and I took that as my chance to speak, "just hear me out, OK?" I whispered in his ear.

He relaxed, albeit slowly, in my grip till he was no longer reaching on his tip toes. I reluctantly released him from my grip but we stood much closer together than we were before, "I will take pictures of this and put it all around the school..."

He opened his mouth, most probably to shout at me, but I held up my hand and gave him my most reassuring smile, "unless," I continued, my smile slowly morphed into a grin, "you let me help you with that plan of yours."

He looked at me sceptically, "you're going to blackmail _me _to let you _help _me?" His eyebrow was raised and his arms were crossed, he had also taken a step back just in case I was crazy or something.

I took a big step forward so we were closer and nodded, "I want to help you." His other eyebrow rose to join the first one, "even if it's murder?"

I took both of his hands in mine and squeezed them, "let's go get caught red handed," I said with a wink.

He chuckled; it was an amazing sound, I felt the blood rushing to my face as I caught a glimpse of a small smile resting on his lips, a real one, "before that, let's go to class."

Smiling at him I led him to the door and opened it up for him, there was still nobody in the halls but I didn't really notice, he was going one way and I was about to go the other. Before he turned away I called out to him, "meet me for lunch?"

He turned to me, a smirk covering his face and I almost melted, "sure, Naruto." He replied before walking off.

I assure you, that time, I did melt.

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><p><strong>S<strong>

"Urgh." I mumbled to myself softly as I took my books out of my bag, "what classes do I have next?"

"History and Biology." I jumped slightly as I voice appeared suddenly from behind me before a body leant on my neighbour lockers. I looked up to see a familiar smiling blond.

"Don't scare me like that." I mumbled as I took out my books and put them into my bag as he closed my locker for me.

"How did you know what classes I have and why are you here?" I asked with a scowl. He pinched my cheek slightly before I swatted him away, "someone's mister grumpy pants!" he cooed at me jokingly.

I flicked him in the head, "I'm just tired from all the smiling I've done today, idiot, now answer the question." I explained, it was weird, I had never been this close to anyone before, not even family, maybe it was because of my optimistic mood today but I felt really relaxed around Naruto.

He laughed as we began walking to the canteen, "I came to pick you up for lunch and I also have History and Biology but we're only in the same Bio class."

I scowled at him, "I don't need an escort." I replied simply, I didn't need him to explain why I had never noticed him in my classes before, I never notice anyone.

"Oh, Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," Naruto repeated as he shook his head softly in mock disappointment, "don't think of me as a escort, think of me as a knight who has to protect the delicate princess on her journey." He expressed gallantly with a wink and a soft kiss to the back of my hand. As soon as I felt the brief contact I was swatting his head as hard as I could while furiously denying the fact that I had ever been flustered.

"Don't do that!" I hissed at him as he picked himself up from the floor with a chuckle, "sorry, sorry, I'll try not to defile you again princess," he said quickly before running off to the canteen with me hot on his trail.

I was getting incredulous looks; _the _Sasuke Uchiha was chasing an unknown blond boy with, what was that? A smile on his face? Oh the horror! I laughed as Naruto slowed down and let me hit him lightly before we entered the lunch hall, I didn't care what they thought, really, when did I ever?

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><p><strong>Review Replies:<strong>

**Uzumaki Naho: **Haha thank you very much ;) it is Naruto, good guess and if you haven't already go read the top!

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**AN: hoped you liked it, if you haven't already please follow, favourite and/or review! I also hope this update was fast enough for you ;)**


	3. The Target

**AN: Hey guys! How's it going? i feel like i've been updating really quickly so i hope you're all happy with the progress that i've made! Here's the chapter and i hope you like it.**

Thank you: **HazeyDaze and krystalraven **for following.

**Review replies at bottom! XP**

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><p><strong>The Target<strong>

**S**

Naruto led me through the hall and sat at an empty table before patting the seat next to him for me to sit down. I could feel the stares on me from where I was seated, never had I ever ventured into the depths of the canteen before so I was sure my sightings was scaring quite a few people.

"Sasuke?" The call of my name brought me out of my reverie; I turned to the blond next to me and held out my hand. He looked at it in confusion before placing his hand in mine; I slapped it away, "no you idiot, my list."

"Oh, right, I knew that." I snorted as Naruto felt around his trouser pockets before pulling out a slightly rumpled piece of paper and handing it to me.

"Before I give this to you..." he said as he pulled the item slightly out of my grasp like he did earlier that day, "tell me why you made this list in the first place."

Crossing my arms and sighing I glanced at him in distain, "do I have to?" He nodded zealously, "of course you do, if I don't know your methods how am I going to help you out?" I sighed but reluctantly began telling him my embarrassing motive and sure enough, he was crying with laughter by the time I was done.

"I feel as though you're going through a lot of hassle for something so simple." Naruto commented with a wheeze when he finally stopped laughing. I glared at him, what right did he have to judge me? "This was the only way I could go about it, Iruka-sensei knew that and gave me two weeks extra to work on my social skills."

The blond leant over so his upper body was lying on the table before ruffling his bright hair softly, "that Iruka, he's always helping troubled kids," he turned so I met his gaze and I felt like I was seeing the brilliance of his blue eyes for the first time, "it kinda makes me feel jealous that Iruka's paying attention to someone other than me."

My eyebrows rose, "what're you talking about?"

Naruto sat up slightly, rested his chin on his hand and peered at me, "You don't know? I'm Iruka's adopted son," he winked at me, "nice to meet you."

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><p><strong>N<strong>

Sasuke gaped at me for a full 10 seconds before he closed his mouth and scowled, I couldn't help the chuckled that escaped my mouth, he was just too cute. "Whatever." He muttered the way he often did, it was probably due to the fact he wasn't used to talking, at all.

Before I could open my mouth and say something more I heard my name being called from across the hall. Looking up, I saw my best friend Kiba literally flying towards us, "hey Naruto, hey Sasuk-" Kiba's eyes bulged out from their sockets as he did a double take because of the person sitting next to me.

"S-s-s-sasuke Uchiha! What's Sasuke Uchiha doing here?!"

I broke into hysterical laughter as Sasuke glared menacingly and Kiba backed away in a terrified fashion. "Come back Kiba, he comes in peace." I assured the brunet while covering Sasuke's eyes to make sure he would no longer scare people off with his glare.

The Uchiha didn't lift a finger to move my hand but he frowned, "I'm not some weird alien, idiot."

"To him, you are." I contradicted as I lowered my hand so my arm was slung around his shoulder, this time he did move it, "plus, aliens are cool." I gave him a grin as I pulled my arm away.

Kiba sat down and Sasuke stood up and stepped over the bench, I grabbed his shirt before he could walk away, "where are you going?" I had to admit my voice did sound a little panicky but I really, seriously didn't want him to leave.

He flicked my forehead and wrenched his shirt out of my grip, "I might as well get some lunch while I'm in here right?" He mumbled. I internally sighed with relief, "will you buy me a sandwich?"

"No." he called over his shoulder before he was lost in the sea of people.

I turned back from where I watch Sasuke disappear to find Kiba staring intently at my face, "what?"

"Why was he here?" He questioned as he took out his lunch from his bag, "I'm helping him with something." I replied as I took half of his bagel and bit into it.

My friend sighed, "I thought you said you were over him," Kiba sighed as he ate the other half, I glared at him, "I am over him and that's why I'm helping him right now, because I have no romantic feelings what so ever towards him."

I emphasised my point by poking Kiba in the chest with every word but he only raised an eyebrow at me, "oh really? Then why did I just see you clinging to Sasuke Uchiha's shirt like a lost puppy because you thought he was going to leave?"

"Pffft, it was obviously because I didn't want our new friendship to fall apart because of your stupid reaction towards him." I was lying, but Kiba didn't know that.

"Then why aren't you making eye contact with me?" OK, maybe he did know.

With a slight tint on my cheeks I looked at him and he smiled at me, "I don't care what you do Naruto, you're my best friend so I support you with whatever, I just don't want you getting hurt because of some one-sided feelings."

Kiba was like a brother to me, that's how long we had been best friends, so I understood how he felt since I felt the exact same when he was crushing on Hinata Hyuuga only to get turned down after years of chasing. He didn't want me to feel that pain.

Grinning, I leant over and ruffled his hair, "don't worry mutt face, I'll be fine, I don't like him anymore remember and even if I did, how could he ever resist me?"He smacked my hand away with a laugh, "more like how couldn't he?"

Sasuke came back a few minutes later and despite what he had said before, he was carrying two sandwiches in hand. Before he reached the table Kiba stood up, "I'll leave you two alone for now, but tomorrow I'll be watching you two crazy kids like a hawk, you understand?" I chucked him his bag with a laugh, "yeah, yeah of course, now get out of here dog breath."

He rolled his eyes and waved goodbye, "see ya moron."

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><p><strong>S<strong>

As I approached the table, Naruto's loud friend was leaving. I sighed with relief; he wasn't going to get in the way anymore.

My own thoughts made me pause; get in the way... of what? Before I could fully think it through I had made it to the table and Naruto was pulling me down to sit with him.

"Here," I shoved the other sandwich I bought, roast chicken, into his hands before opening my own, it was cheese and tomato. He smiled and accepted it, "thank you for being so generous and buying this humble servant some food princess."

Without sparing him a glance, I raised my hand and flicked his forehead and before he could say anything more, I began to speak, "so, how are you going to help me?"

Naruto's eyes widened as if he just remembered why we were even talking in the first place, "oh yeah," I sighed, he probably didn't have anything planned at all. "I know what you're thinking, and I do have something planned!" One of my eyebrows rose as if telling him to continue and he grinned, "I am going to give you targets."

"Targets?" He nodded enthusiastically as he turned to face me by sitting with a leg on either side of the bench, "yep, targets; people in your class who I think you should become friends with first, they'll be, in my opinion, easy to work with and easy to become friends with."

I underestimated Naruto because he looked dumb but this idea was pretty smart, but, "how are you supposed to know who I can work well with and who I'll be able to make friends with easily?"

"Because I know pretty much everyone in our year, I know what kind of people they are and how they work; it won't be too hard for me to figure it out." He stated proudly as he took the first bite out of his sandwich.

"Then do you know the people who are in my class?" I asked as I pushed away my half eaten lunch, I didn't normally eat much, one tomato was normally enough to sustain me. "I think the better question is, do you? You didn't even recognise me and yet I'm in nearly all of your classes other than History."

I crossed my arms and scowled at him as he finished his lunch and took a big gulp out of _my _bottle of water without even asking, "that's not true, I know Sakura Haruno is in my class." Naruto looked impressed that I had remembered someone's name, "how do you know that?"

"Because she nags me every lesson about how great we'd be as a couple and how hot I look so she better not be one of the targets." Naruto agreed with a chuckle as he handed back my, now empty, water bottle.

"She's not one of the targets, but thanks to you remembering her name I now know what History class you're in, so I know who your first target will be." I had History today after lunch; I could start befriending them today.

"Do tell." I prompted, he laughed, "don't you kind of feel like an assassin or something?"

"No, now tell me who it is." Despite my irritated tone, he laughed, "OK, calm down mister grumpy pants, your first target is Shino Aburame." Before I could ask who the hell that was, the bell had rung so I got up and headed to History without even a glance or goodbye to Naruto.

I reached my classroom but a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back before I could enter, "here." A familiar voice whispered into my ear as a sheet was stuffed into my hand, "I took the liberty of adding to it." It said before the warm hand left my wrist and the body moved away.

I opened the sheet of paper and on it was my list, but underneath the two points that I had written in my neat writing was a third one that was most definitely not from my pen since it was broken and messy that read,

_3. Capture Shino Aburame ;)__  
><em>

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><p><strong>Review Replies:<strong>

**Gemini Rose12: **These games are going to be fun aren't they? Well he's gotta be bold to win over a guy like Sasuke right? X)

**Uzumaki Naho: **Yes really! Wha? Why not? Thank you, i'm happy when people fangirl ;)

**CrimsonNight41: **Hahaha you always make me laugh, i love you too ;D I don't reeally fancy being a prisoner, unless you take care of me well then it's fine. Wow, that's a lot of feels to have, i think everyone needs that in their life. I think this one was slower than the other one, sorry :'( Noo skipping class is bad! Jk, go crazy if you want, but not too crazy, how old are you anyways? Once again, i love you too and you are amazingly awesome as well :)

**Randomly Talented: **It did happen! The blackmailing occurred! Same, it's so funny when it happens. haha thanks ;) Woah don't melt... you'll get goop all over your computer.

**MoonKissedDreamerEureka: **Hehe thank you very much, Naruto's denying the crushing but does that count?

**(Guest): **Thank you, yes Naruto is a very social person.

**AN: Thank you for reading if you liked it and havent already please follow, favourite and/or review! XD**


	4. The Embarrassment

**AN:Hey bros! Sorry this update took a bit longer than the last, school has really been hounding on but i managed to squeeze this one out so i hope you enjoy it ;)**

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><p><strong>The Embarrassment<strong>

**S**

5 minutes after receiving my list back from Naruto and I was already going through difficulties.

I had come into the classroom as usual, sat in my seat as usual before searching the classroom for my first target (I decided to go along with Naruto's idiotic ways), Shino Aburame. I had scanned and rescanned the room a few times before I mentally face palmed.

I had no idea what Aburame looked like.

I sighed inwardly as I looked around the classroom again in one futile attempt to spot anybody who fit the name of 'Shino' or maybe looked a little out of place so I would be able to befriend him easily; but before I could catch a glimpse of anybody in the class, a puff of pink hair covered my view.

"Hi Sasuke-kun!"

I sighed through my gritted teeth, "Sakura."

She smiled at me as she moved closer to my seat and began to babble nonsense, I glanced at the girl for a second, maybe I could ask her who Aburame was, it would save me a lot of time and unnecessary stress. I spared her a look once more and a disgusting grin was covering her face. I shook my head, I would rather go through the humiliation of asking Naruto who Shino was rather than asking her.

"I saw you at lunch today," suddenly her words caught my attention, I, obviously, didn't show it though, "in the canteen with Naruto." My interest piqued, was Naruto really that well known.

Sakura put a hand to her cheek and sighed, "why does that idiot always have to drag people along into his stupid schemes? Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I'll tell that moron to leave you alone and then maybe we can go home together?" She spoke in a hopeful tone but I ignored her and packed up my thing; she looked at me in confusion.

"That 'idiot' you speak of," I sneered at her, "just happens to be my friend and it would do you well to remember that." I finished off before stomping as far away from her as I could and taking a seat next to a boy with round shaped sunglasses.

I sighed as I unpacked my stuff again, not bothering to glance at the dumbstruck Sakura from across the room, I was supposed to be smiling and speaking positively but there was just something about the way Sakura talked about Naruto that made me want to defend him. I called him a friend, he wasn't supposed to be a friend, only a short term acquaintance, I didn't need friends.

Once the project was over me and Naruto would never speak again and I was OK with that. I chanted it over in my head like a mantra before the door slammed open and a panting Iruka walked in.

"Sorry I'm late, Kakashi held me up with a lot of useless questions." The murmur in the classroom died down to a faint whisper as people began to take their seats; I glared at the person who used to occupy the seat I currently resided in until he ran away with tears in his eyes.

"I'm going to take the register so quiet down." Iruka called out as he sifted through some papers to find the folder.

Although I didn't show it, my face lit up, I could just listen and wait until Aburame's name is called out and I can find out who it-

"Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka barked, I raised my hand like I usually did rather than speak. I listened intently but a few names after mine Iruka was done. I cursed inwardly; my musings had obviously made me miss the calling of Aburame's name.

I scouted the room once more but nobody looked like a 'Shino', nobody looked like an anything, just ugly blurs of colours. I didn't need glasses; I just don't take note of people's distinctive features. That's probably why I didn't know anyone but Sakura.

I sighed and placed my head on my table, this was going to be a very long History lesson.

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

At the end of class I went to Iruka, no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find Shino. He wasn't called to answer a question nor did he ever ask questions, I didn't know what else to do so Iruka was my last resort.

"Huh, Shino? Why do you want to know where Shino sits?" He asked as he tided a stack of papers and moved them over on his desk. I sighed, "just answer the question Iruka, please."

He looked at me questioningly but talked anyways, "it's Iruka-sensei to you and Shino was sitting right next to you in class."

I paused, he was sitting right next to me and I didn't notice? What did he look like? Iruka seemed to notice my confusion and elaborated, "you know, the one with the black hair, sunglasses and high collared coat."

I almost slapped myself because of my own stupidity. How could I have not seen the sunglasses and trench coat? Of course Naruto would have chosen someone like him as the first target; he probably hates talking and works well, pretty much perfect for what I was looking for.

"Thanks Iruka!"I called over my shoulder as I left the room, purposely forgetting the 'sensei' at the end. I had to find Naruto so I could tell him what happened, even though I hoped he wouldn't laugh; I knew for sure that he would.

* * *

><p><strong>N<strong>

I seemed to be laughing a lot lately, and it was because of Sasuke. Because everything he does is so funny, and cute, so very very cute. Not that I liked him or anything.

I was laughing at the moment because he was cute, his mistakes were cute, his thought process was cute, his face was c- no no no, back to the point.

Shino, Sasuke couldn't find Shino. But then he found Iruka and it turns out Shino was right under his nose; literally! "So you didn't talk to him at all?" I asked as we walked to our next class which we had together.

Sasuke scowled at the floor, "no, I don't talk to people, remember?"

"With the exception of me of course," I added with a grin, Sasuke faltered slightly but continued with a jerky nod, "right." I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning even more; no matter what I told myself, I couldn't help the fact that Sasuke was so cute sometimes, especially when he was embarrassed.

"What ever happened to your smile and be positive thing?" I asked as we neared our Biology class, he shrugged as he entered the room and sat at his usual desk, but unlike my usual I went to site next to him. "I don't think it's really working out, people get more freaked out than comforted, take my parents for example."

He began to take out his books and stationary while I threw my bag down and didn't bother to prepare myself for the lesson yet. "Well it's always best to make friends while being yourself," I agreed as our teacher entered the classroom. I lowered my voice to a whisper, "plus, you're natural smile is so much better than the fake one you put on, I can vouch for that."

From the corner of my eye, I could see a red tint cover Sasuke's cheeks for a quick moment before he regained his composure and I smirked, Sasuke really was too cute.

... What happened to his parents?

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>

Through the whole lesson I watched Naruto out of the corner of my eye; his various expressions were quite amusing. His face was shrouded with confusion most of the time, sometimes it was understanding but then it would go straight to embarrassment before switching to confused again.

I had to hold myself back from chuckling, how could I have not noticed him before, how could I have not noticed anyone? I felt like I was missing out in a way, was this what it was like to have a friend or was it just because that friend was him?

I shook my thoughts away as the teacher wrote more information on the board and I scribbled it down, it was too early to be thinking like this, I had only known him for a day, "don't get ahead of yourself Sasuke," I muttered as I furiously scribbled out a word on my page, "don't let it affect you."

* * *

><p><strong>Review replies:<strong>

**Uzumaki Naho: **Oh, ok. Haha thanks, sorry for maing you wait, i dont mean for it to be long it just turns out that way :)

**Gemini Rose12: **Hmm 3-4 years i guess,so its pretty deep if you think about it. Yes, yes you should. ;D

**Randomly Talented: **Yep,it kind of makes this super serious thing for Sasuke more fun. Good thing huh, dont want to ruin it:D I think it's duct rather than duck. That's a great philosophy you've got there ;)

**keltieful: **Hehe thank you, ah im glad i could help ;) Really? Thank you very much, i honestly though i was doing a bad job of making them seem a bit different but i'm glad you cleared that up for me:D Thanks, i liked that bit too, nah, i cant picture Sasuke as a super perv, at least not in this story. Ahaha, no apologies needed, i'm very amused but maybe you should try and get some more sleep. You're over praising me but thank you very much, it means a lot to me.

**CrimsonNight41: **No you're not, if something's going on focus on your real life dude, it's no big deal, just read it whenever you can. Kiba say's you're welcome ;] Hmm why not? Out of all the Naruto characters i think either Shino, Neji or Shikamaru would have been the best picks for a first target. Then skipping classes isn't good! Unless you're really stressed and cant take it anymore, a break is then in order.

**Nashi-ossu: **Thank you i'm glad you laughed, sorry for disturbing your Mother :) Aww thank you, im very happy to hear that.

**nelle13: **Thank you! :]

**AN: Hoped you liked it please follow, fav and/or review if you havent already and please go check out my other works!**


	5. The Plans

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the extremely long wait! Exams were happening and then christmas came along and i was busy with gift buying. Thank you for being so patient, i will try to update more frequently since it's christmas break! Enjoy the chapter and Merry Christmas (although it's a bit early)!**

Thank you: **darkmagiciangirl757, RectalTenesmus, ArctosWaya, namvd, TweetiePieBeckie, ehkhshadow24, SkyiMello, Heiji H 57, teamuriah12, ILoveOnePiece and berry5tz **for favouriting.

Thank you: **RectalTenesmus, SecretsR4Criminals, ArctosWaya, Kokomi, namvd, yeimina21, TweetiePieBeckie, ehkhshadow24, ArcaneRaven, Guesta, teamuriah12, Eternity09, ILoveOnePiece and berry5tz**for following.

**Review Replies at the bottom! XD**

* * *

><p><strong>The Plans<strong>

**S**

Naruto and I sat in my living room staring at the slightly crumpled piece of paper that I called a 'how to be social' list.

After Biology, Naruto offered to walk me home and since he never took no for an answer, I just made it easier on myself and said yes. When we eventually reached my house, he demanded I invite him in for tea so that we could discuss how to get past number 3 on my list.

My parents were out on a date and my brother had an after school activity so I agreed for Naruto to come in for an hour, no more; this leads us to our current predicament, twenty minutes had gone by, Naruto's tea was half finished and cold and we were still thinking up a plan of what to do.

"Ok, I've got it!" Naruto finally said before he took a long swig of his cold tea.

I looked at him expectantly and he just grinned back, "We'll start with Plan A."

**N**

I watched as Sasuke walked towards Shino Aburame's locker area. School didn't start for another 10 minutes so now was the perfect time for him to strike up a conversation as the mysterious boy used his locker A.K.A Plan A.

The Uchiha walked slowly, his chin was up and a small smile, almost a grimace, covered his face, a lot different from yesterday. I had told Sasuke that he needed his smile to be realer and his words to be deeper for anyone to believe them or be calmed by them, his extremely real grimace was the result but it was better than his fake smile which hadn't done Sasuke's face justice.

Sasuke stopped before he had completely reached Shino, he was close enough to touch him but he didn't lift a hand, he didn't move at all, just stood and waited.

I sighed, he was nervous, why wouldn't he be? He hadn't talked to anyone before now other than his family, Iruka and I. I smiled at the thought of being one of those few special people Sasuke talked to, but of course I wasn't special by his choice, I thought bitterly, I had blackmailed him.

I was brought out of my stupor by the slamming of a locker door and saw Shino fixing his bag straps and turning around only to come face to face with Sasuke.

"Go on Sasuke." I whispered supportively, "now's your chance to talk to him!"

The two stood there for about a minute and a half before Sasuke finally opened his mouth, "come on Sasuke, you can do it." I whispered again.

"Hn." Was the only sound that came out before the Uchiha moved to the side and walked past Shino; I face palmed, we we're going to have to go to Plan B.

**S**

"Plan B?" I asked Naruto sceptically as I helped him with a Maths problem, he nodded, "yeah, since you failed at Plan A." He snickered to himself silently as the teacher calmly walked around the class.

I scowled at him, "I didn't fail it, I just decided those methods were beneath me."

"What methods? Having a conversation like a normal person?" I flicked his hand making him drop his pencil, "don't push it Uzumaki." I hissed in his ear; is it just me or did he just shiver?

"Ok, ok, don't get all prissy," before I could argue again, he continued, "for Plan B all you have to do is bribe him."

I snorted, "bribe him? With what exactly?" I asked sceptically as I ducked down and finished off the last of the questions on the sheet. I looked over to Naruto's paper and smirked widely when I saw he had only answered 3 questions of the 27 that I had finished.

"I dunno, ramen?" He guessed as he rubbed at his paper ferociously. I made a face of disgust, "who likes ramen?" I scoffed and he looked offended, "everybody likes ramen!" He replied in a voice that was slightly louder than a whisper causing their maths teacher, Kurenai-sensei, to cast them a suspicious glance before continuing her rounds of the classroom.

When she looked away I lightly whacked Naruto over the head, "not so loud idiot, and for the record, nobody likes ramen."

Naruto scowled at me before finally scribbling the right answer on his now crumpled paper causing me to chuckle, I had never done this before; never talked during class or laughed with someone or tried to finish my work early, not caring if the answers were right or not (which they were), so that I could focus on a conversation. The blond idiot that sat next to was making me experience so many firsts and it had only been a day and a bit since I had met him.

I sighed as I looked down at all of my neatly finished questions, was I going to be able to leave this? Would I be able to turn away from the weird warmth that Naruto's presence gave me?

Shaking my head, I picked up my pencil and worked on some extra questions, it had only been a day, maybe a would grow to hate his constant companionship, I didn't need it, "I don't need him." I mumbled to myself reassuring the fact that I was now and forever a lone wolf.

"What about cake?" My head snapped up to the blond who had whispered me the question while sneakily glancing at Kurenai-sensei, "huh?" I breathed slowly.

Naruto sighed at me patronising me making my eyebrow twitch with irritation, "everyone likes cake right? So why don't we bribe Shino with cake?"

My heart throbbed as Naruto said 'we', I normally wasn't included in anything; it was me, myself and I, never we. A soft smile made its way onto my face through the irritation and I said in the nicest way I possibly could, "we're not using a plan as stupid as that."

**S**

Sitting at a table in the canteen two times in a row started to really freak people out, after all, Sasuke Uchiha wasn't exactly what you would call a social butterfly and yet there he was, surrounded by people as if he was normal, oh the horror!

I snorted a little at my own thoughts causing Naruto and his weird friend (Kiba, I think his name was) to look at me funnily before continuing with their conversation. I slowly picked at the pasta that sat in-front of me; it was bland and looked cold so I didn't bother eating a bit of it.

"I've got it, Plan S!" My head jerked up at Naruto's happy exclamation while his weird friend (I prefer to call him that) only lifted an eyebrow, obviously used to his odd behaviour; for some reason that I could not explain, this made me jealous, how long did they have to spend together for him to get used to Naruto?

Ignoring my own thoughts I looked to Naruto, "what's Plan S?"

He gobbled up the rest of his lunch before winking at me, "Plan Sasuke." He stood from his seat and stepped away from the table, "hurry up and finish your lunch, I'll explain on the way there."

I looked down at my untouched pasta and deemed it 'finished' before I too stood. Before I could throw away the food, I noticed the weird friend eying it hungrily; not willing to waste food, I offered it to him, "thanks Sasuke! You're not such a bad guy after all!"

"Hn." Was my only reply as I followed Naruto out of the hall, I no longer felt jealous for some reason.

**S**

"Why'd you call it Plan Sasuke?" I asked as Naruto and I sped through the halls, we had 10 minutes left of lunch and apparently we were ring to get halfway across the school to the courtyard.

"Because it's a plan specifically designed for you and your particular standards." He explained with a wink, I felt touched and annoyed at the same time; touched that he had taken my person preferences into account and annoyed that he was insulting me.

"This way you won't have an excuse as to why you couldn't do it," he snickered, I was about to roughly punch his arm when he came to an abrupt stop causing me to bump into him before he ducked down behind a wall and pulled me with him.

"What's the big ide-" A hand covered my mouth while another one turned my chin to show me what exactly Naruto was staring at. It was Shino sitting on a bench while looking carefully at something on the ground.

I pulled away the hand that covered my mouth, "well, are you going to explain Plan S?" I whispered and he pulled us fully behind the wall.

"I guess you could call it Plan S Part 1, because with this method you'll only have a reason to talk to him, not a way to become friends." He explained thoughtfully as he rubbed his chin.

I sneered, "well that's no help then is it?" He frowned at me, "with your personality, it's the best I can do."

My heart panged at the insult Naruto had dished, I turned my head away and frowned, yeah sure I was a douche but I really didn't expect Naruto to be douchy back. Internally I berated myself, I was a lone wolf, I didn't need companions and this was a reason why, don't get too close Sasuke, don't get too close.

"Aww don't pout princess, I didn't mean it that way and you know it." Naruto whispered too close to my ear for comfort; I felt a blush spread on my face as my hands rose to Naruto's chest to try and push him away since he had me backed up against the wall and his arms were on either side of my head.

He pulled away slightly but only enough so that he could see my face and grinned, "don't be mad at me princess, your personality is one of the things I love the most about you."

I felt the blush spread all the way to my ears and hid my face in my hands before Naruto could even catch a glimpse. No matter what I said to myself or how many times I assured myself I wanted to be alone, there was something about Naruto that made me open up and I wasn't sure I liked that.

Stop being hasty Sasuke, I thought to myself, it's too early to decide anything; it could have been the same with anyone who approached you first, Naruto is in no way, shape or form special.

Sighing as I felt my heart slow down and my face pale I removed my hands, "what's Plan S?" I asked lazily, not missing the disappointment flash through Naruto's eyes quickly.

"That's right, Plan S, how could I have forgotten?" He asks as he mock hits himself, I snort but don't interrupt him, "It's easy, extremely simple; all I want you to do is walk up to Shino..."

"Uh huh."

"Then walk past Shino."

"Without stopping?" I questioned, he smirked, "it'd be better if you sped up." I nodded and he continued.

"While you're walking past Shino, I want you to trip in the most obvious way possible," I glared at him; "you want me to what?"

He raised his hands in surrender, "let me finish," I kept on glaring at him but didn't open my mouth to interrupt; "after you tripped I want you to threaten him."

My eyebrow rose, "what do you mean by threaten?" Naruto shrugged, "I don't know, say something like 'if you tell anyone about what you just saw I'll personally kill you.'" He offered while doing an impressing that sounded nothing like me.

"And threatening to kill him will eventually lead to us talking more and becoming friends how?"

Naruto shook his head at me condescendingly causing a tic to appear on my forehead, "isn't it obvious? Every time you see him you'll be giving him threatening looks or messages and eventually he'll wonder why you want to keep it a secret so much because let's be honest, who wouldn't be curious? This will sooner or later lead to you talking to him about how you don't want your reputation to be ruined and you don't want people close to you, some sort of sob story will be thrown in there and boom, you've just gotten yourself your first friend, well other than me of curse."

It was amazingly hard to keep my jaw from dropping at the utter stupidity I had heard coming from Naruto's mouth, "that must be one of the most stupidest plans I have ever heard. I am not doing that."

Naruto scowled at me, from what I see, you haven't got anything better Sasuke and you need at least 4 more people in this group of your for it to actually count as a group, you either take it or leave it."

Sighing, I reluctantly agreed with him, oh how I hated when Naruto was right because it made me feel stupid. I sighed once more before pushing Naruto away from me and stepping out from behind the wall.

He looked on in anticipation and I glared at him, "if this fails, I am literally going to skin you alive." The blond just winked, "good luck princess." Were his parting words before I marched off towards the direction of Shino.

**N**

I watched with a mix of anticipation, fear and humour. No matter how this situation turned out, it would be funny.

Slowly, Sasuke began to pick up his pace until he was at a speed walking pace in the direction of Shino Aburame. If the boy had noticed the speeding raven coming his way he obviously didn't show it as his eyes stayed trained to a spot on the ground, a spot Sasuke seemed to be heading for, "nice job Sasuke." I whispered to myself.

What happened next seemed to be happening in slow motion. Sasuke had reached the spot that Shino was staring at causing the other boy's eyes to snap up to him, but before Sasuke stepped on the spot he seemed to experience the most spectacular fall ever.

His left leg hooked around the shin of his right leg in a fake yet somewhat real looking trip. As he fell, his arms flailed in and his face morphed into one of shock and disgust at the same time. He fell onto his knees and before he could fall to his stomach, he braced himself with his arms.

There was a moment of silence, for Shino it was to stare at Sasuke who had just landed in the spot he was staring at, for Sasuke it was to try and prevent a blush from creeping up on his face but in my opinion it would have made it more effective, and more cute.

For me, it was to try and prevent myself from screaming with laughter but it was so hard since the way Sasuke fell was deeply and truly amazing, "you're so awesome Sasuke." I wheezed out slowly.

I stopped laughing completely when Shino stood up, Sasuke didn't dare meet his eyes and the boy opened his mouth to speak, "Sasuke Uchiha... you..."

There was a pause, a long stretch of silence before Shino took a few steps forwards until he was standing in front of him; he then kneeled and put his hands on Sasuke's shoulders, "Sasuke Uchiha are you an insect lover also?"

I had to strain my ears to hear him speak but when he finally did my amusement had returned and I had to prevent myself from falling to the floor so I could hear how Sasuke would reply.

"Huh?" I almost face palmed at how dense Sasuke could be at times, but at the same time he made it so cute!

"You were obviously rushing to get somewhere, but instead of stepping on it, you decided to throw away your pride and fall rather than crush this small ant civilisation." Shino explained and although I couldn't see his face, I knew he had an expression of admiration.

"Uh, yeah, I just didn't want to end the lives of all those ants, you know?"

Shino nodded solemnly and I was now quivering with the amount of laughter I wanted to let out. "Let's be friends Sasuke," Shino declared while offering a hand to help Sasuke up after he stood up himself, "as fellow insect lovers." He finished.

Sasuke took the hand with a familiar smirk, "yes Shino, let's." With a nod and a masked smile, Shino walked away in the direction of his next class while I walked up to stand next to Sasuke.

We stood there for a few moments in dead silence until I opened my mouth, "that was easier than I expected."

What did Sasuke say, you ask? He didn't say anything, he just laughed.

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><p><strong>Review Replies:<strong>

**Uzumaki Naho: **Haha i bet it's not all gucci anymore since it took a month this time. Yeah but i feel like im getting ahead of myself, it's only been a day and a bit. '~'

**keltieful: **Aww thank you very much ;D Haha yeah, doubts so early on cant be good can they? Thank you, i didnt want to make her too annoying *coughwhat'sPoBP?cough* Technically he didnt really tune him out since he didnt really know he existed, he was just background noise in a way. I honestly think that's how it's going to be, sorry if that annoys you, i tried to make this chapter longer. Hehe you dont really hear about their wellcbeing in this chapter.

**MoonKissedDreamerEureka: **Well that's another way to end my story, that's now my backup plan. Ramen Ranger Red OUT! :D

**CrimsonNight41: **Haha thanks, i try and make it as cute as possible ;) Im glad you enjoyed the chapter.

**namvd: **Thank you very much X) I'm happy that my fic is making you laugh!

**Randomly Talented: **You're welcome, i find your philosophy very funny ;] No worries, i should be apologising for taking so long to update. Haha your french is excused but what would he fuck upon exactly? Sakura is always ARGHHH, of course that's what happened, how did you figure it out?! Thank you very much, im happy to hear that.

**SkyiMello: **Haha thank you :) Hmm, i dont know really, ill make it up as i go along, but Kiba is most likely going to end up with Hinata.

**berry5tz: **Aww thank you, im happy to hear that :)

**AN: Heyo guys! Once again im extremely sorry for the delay and i hope you liked the chapter, Shino was a bit too OOC for me but oh well, we win some we lose some ;) bye guys!**


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